A Hero's Rebirth Ch. 06

"Okay, I was... trying to figure out what was different about our bond," I explained. "All the other bonds are just... there. Yours seems to be encased in some sort of crystal or something."

"Crystal? That does not... I cannot see how that could be true." Amura replied.

"Yeah, I'm going to see what I can do about it," I explained.

She watched with interest as I sat down.

I tried not to focus too hard on the bond itself but on the crystals instead. For a second, the crystals seemed normal, and then I saw it. It wasn't a singular structure, it was a series of geometric patterns, and each had something like a spike, anchoring it to our bond. Since I had become a little more familiar with the way magic worked, I reached out with my will and tried to... well do anything... to the first structure.

As soon as my will entered the structure, Amura cried out in pain, clutching her head.

I immediately stopped. "Are you okay?"

"What was that pain?" She wondered.

"Well... I think crystal is a bad word to describe the structure around your bond now." I noted. "It seems more like... a series of spiked bands, clustered tightly enough that they look like one structure. I tried to see what they did, and... well, that's when it hurt you."

"Ah." She noted. "So that is how the Marked's Torment works."

"The Marked's Torment?" I repeated in confusion.

"The way that the one to whom I am enslaved may with ease torture and torment me if I attempt to disobey or perform poorly." She explained simply.

"Holy fuck... Nope. That's not staying." I declared. "Um... let me try again."

"To torture me?" She murmured, taking her turn being the confused one..

"No, to make sure no one can ever do that again?" I declared.

I glanced down at my bonding sigil again. Knowing now that each of these was here to restrict or harm her, I could not let them be.

This time, instead of just touching it with my will, I tried to slip my will between it and the bond. Amura didn't react as the golden energy of my will slipped between the bond and the surrounding structure. I made sure to encase the point that dug into the bond most heavily.

"Agh..." Amura noted panting, "This is... most strange."

Satisfied that the bond was protected, I wrapped my will around it and tried to crush it in my will. My head felt like a hot icepick had just been stabbed into it. It made concentrating very hard, but I didn't relent. I increased the pressure, which increased the pain, but after a moment... The band shattered, dissipating into nothing, and the pain stopped. Looking over, Amura looked like she'd just been laid out by a haymaker. One hand held her head as it lolled around on her shoulders, her legs and other arm were spread eagle. If she hadn't already been sitting in the corner, she probably would have been knocked back.

"By all the Hells... What was that?" She groaned.

The door burst open and Creadean, Tavorwen, Flendreir, and Anbethir burst into the room, weapons drawn. Mavrin, Narusil, and Sevrina were right on their heels, their arms in a casting stance.

"What did she do to you?" Creadean snarled.

"What? No. NO! Put the weapons away." I told them. They hesitated, so I added. "NOW."

Amura luckily was too distracted. "Ugh... my head."

I went over to her... "Are you okay?"

"I... believe so." She groaned. "Is my bond unfettered now?"

"No, that was one of the structures... there are at least..." I glanced down at the sigil. It was hard to get a count because of how densely packed they were, but I tried to guess. "...Around fifty of them."

"Fifty?" She cried in indignation "Master... to remove all of them in this manner... I'm not sure I could..."

"Master, please explain what's going on," Creadean demanded more than asked.

"Look. Amura's bond isn't exactly like yours." I began. "I thought hers was just encased in some sort of... magical crystal... but we were experimenting and I realized they were tools built into the bond to torture her. I broke one. It hurt like hell, but I'd do it a hundred times over if that's what it takes to get rid of it. I won't have her walking around with a fucking shock collar."

"A shock... What is this thing you speak of?" Tavorwen prodded.

"A shock collar. Assholes in my world use them to train dogs. If the dog does something they don't like, they can just push a button and zap the dog." I snapped. "Even on a dog, most people agree it's a shit way to make the dog obey. It's worse on a hum-... person."

"And that is what caused you such pain?" Tavorwen repeated.

"Yeah." I affirmed.

"Amura did it." Creadean declared. "We could FEEL her in your pain."

"Sit down," I instructed Creadean, and I went to Amura. "Are you okay? I guess some of them won't believe unless we do another."

"I would have them all gone... Regardless of how it pains me." She declared, holding her head.

"Alright." I could accept that. "Let's get you into bed where you, hopefully, won't hurt yourself if you thrash."

Once she was gingerly settled, I returned to my chair. "Now watch so you can all SEE that she's doing NOTHING."

I concentrated on the bond again, my will slipping under and around the second node. This one had two spikes, one on each side. I wondered how I could maybe make it less fucking painful. The squeezing hadn't worked particularly well, in my personal opinion. So this time, I formed a hammer out of my will and tried to just smash the thing.

I felt the impact in my head. It burned and I felt concussed, but I saw cracks on the torture band, and they slowly started to repair themselves so I had to move fast. I struck again, and the cracks separated the band into two pieces, I used my will to rip the two pieces clear of the bond... at which point they disintegrated.

Tavorwen caught me as I fell forward.

"Master! Master, are you okay?" She pleaded.

"Oww... um... yeah." I declared, and with some effort, I could straighten... This was the worst pain I'd ever felt in my head. But somehow I was able to push through it.

"Mythrin's claws... That... How can you bear such pain?" Narusil wondered.

Amura appeared to have passed out.

"I have to... get these off her..." I grunted and prepared for the third.

"You must rest!" Mavrin declared. "The dark energy being released is... it's causing your balance to shift. You could kill yourself, or her if you continue!"

That gave me pause. Pain could be recovered from. But... I didn't want to kill her.

I ground my teeth in frustration.

"Master... I am trained to handle dark magic... May I assist?" Mavrin offered.

"Dark magic is not to be trifled with," Sevrina warned her.

"Would you have me stand by as our master struggles so? And not all interactions with dark magic corrupt." Mavrin declared. "While it is still classified as dark magic, the magic to counter dark magic utilizes the energy of good... I believe that is what is required here."

The others stepped aside to let Mavrin approach me.

"Are none of you concerned for Amura?" A voice from the hall asked, and to my surprise, Heilantu pushed through and walked to Amura's side. I knew Heilantu didn't like Amura. She didn't like how there was a Shadow Elf in our house. But still, she sat by her side and began the incantations of healing. Silver-white light encircled her hands as she laid them on Amura's temples.

With a shudder, Amura began breathing more easily.

"By the host... that must have been painful," Heilantu noted sympathetically. "Now, before you do anything with our Master, I will see to him first."

She came to me invoking those same incantations. As her hands touched my head, it was like a wash of cold water through the searing pain in my head.

"Hells... How were you still conscious?" Heilantu breathed and began a second incantation as the first faded and the pain started to return. It took her four such spells before I felt like myself again and my head wasn't hurting anymore.

Her hands trembled as she pulled them from my head.

"Is he ready now?" Mavrin asked.

"As ready as any may be," Heilantu assured her.

Mavrin took my other hand. "Guide me to the magic of which you speak."

I closed my eyes, and I felt, more than saw, a pinprick of silver... light? Will? Call it what you want... My brain processed it as a light like it processed my will as a golden light. For a second I couldn't figure out what to do then I reached out with my will to kind of... wrap it, like in a blanket.

"Talnir's Tome! Master... such power... Is THIS why your magic has such power?" Mavrin gasped.

"What is it?" Narusil pressed.

"His power is as an ocean! Boundless and deep!" She shuddered. "Terrifying and beautiful..."

I chuckled. "Let's stay on task."

I guided her to the bond and to the structures. I cracked open an eye, and Marvin had her eyes closed and a look of intense concentration on her face.

"This is what you were undoing?" She breathed in awe.

"What is it?" Sevrina pressed.

"Refractive matrices of dark magic. They... they are embedded in the very bond itself." Mavrin noted.

"Why would anyone do such a thing?" Sevrina wondered.

"Amura said they were used to punish slaves that did anything wrong or didn't do as well as their... Marked thought they should." I explained.

I almost called the slave owners "Masters". The means were very different here.

"So, Mavrin, can you help me get rid of them?" I refocused.

"Matrices like this are very persistent and durable forms of magic... How did you destroy the previous ones? I can see where once their magic pierced the bond but... not how you were able to undo them." She confessed.

"Well, I just sort of..." I admitted, and did the preparations, "Then the first one I just squeezed. The second one I tried just smashing, I don't think that went as well."

"Master... you were able, with your raw will, to crush a refractive matrix of magic?" Narusil asked in awe.

"Is that... not how that's supposed to be done?" I asked.

"Well, such matrices are generally considered unbreakable. Or nearly so." Sevrina informed me.

My mind raced, "Does this mean that since I can break them, I can free Amura?"

"No." Mavrin declared simply. "You will remove a few tools that were to be passed from Marked to Marked, but the nature of her bond will remain."

I was disappointed.

"But... here, lend me your strength." She requested.

It was a strange feeling, feeding the stream of golden energy that was my will into a tiny pinprick of silver light, only to have it shaped and twisted. The will remained mine, but Mavrin was somehow feeding it through a mold of some kind. She made an array of rings, with runes, and interconnecting geometric forms. Muttering the words of magic the whole time.

It took what felt like forever. At least a half hour before she finished.

"By the host... that is harder than the writings would lead you to believe... now to see if it works." Mavrin declared.

I had to keep my eyes closed to maintain concentration on the structure she'd created in my imagination. I had found I could "see" the structures around our bond in my head so that part wasn't difficult. What Mavrin had constructed, however, was complex and intricate.

"Your will is so strong and unwieldy, it is no wonder your spells are so powerful." Mavrin declared. "Now maintain that for a moment."

"Doing my best..." I muttered. The runes wanted to blur and blend into each other and it took constant effort to keep everything as Mavrin had left it.

Mavrin began to say words of magic, and I didn't dare try to listen as I kept this ring from falling apart.

"... tar janaie!" Mavrin finished and a laser of her silver will shot through the image in my mind. As it passed through the center of the ring, it was as though it pulled at my very brain. Almost like my brain was being sucked out of my forehead. But when the laser left the back of the ring, it was a mix of silver and gold and felt almost blinding, even if it was just in my imagination.

The laser hit the first structures near the top of the circle and cut the top down until it reached the bond. Then it shifted ninety degrees around the circle and again cut outside to inside. It continued this until it returned to the initial cut, which had already started healing. Because recutting was so much faster, as there was only a little bit healed, the trips around the bond seemed to go faster and faster... until the reflecting whatever it was finally just fell away.

When it did, I realized that not only had we been cutting through that ring, but the one behind it, and the one behind that... and the one behind that. I marveled as each one fell away, I hadn't felt any pain, and I hadn't heard anything from Amura, so hopefully, doing this the right way had been less traumatic for her.

In using the structure she had created of my will, it was completely consumed.

"Holy shit. How many of them did we get?" I breathed.

"Twelve..." came the hoarse, gasping reply.

My eyes flew open. Mavrin was swaying, only on her feet because Tavorwen, Diamiutar, and Lymarith were holding her up. She was pale and panting like she just ran a marathon.

"Mavrin! Are you okay?" I yelped, rushing to her.

"I... will be fine... I just... underestimated the strain... of channeling so much... positive energy." She confessed.

I could feel a little drained myself, but more like how, yeah, once you break the seal and take a sip, the Gatorade bottle isn't "full" anymore, but you still have 95% of the drink.

I took her hand. Damn it, if only there was a way for me to let her tap my energy reserves. I could keep this up. I wanted Amura as free as she could be, now, but I wasn't about to sacrifice Mavrin to make it happen. If only I could just wish my strength into her.

Mavrin gasped, color returning to her cheeks. "Master! What are you...?"

"Huh?" I gaped. Damn, I must look so stupid, so often. I was always clueless.

"I've never... such energy." She breathed, her breathing steady and all signs of strain gone.

"Fuck... did that work?" I muttered.

"Could you please just tell us what you did?" Diamiutar pleaded.

"Well, I was just thinking about how nice it would be if I could just... give you guys some of my energy... it seems like wanting to do it... maybe while touching you, like touching your hand not like TOUCHING you-" I fumbled trying to make my thoughts coherent.

"We understand. Continue." Creadean assured me.

"Okay, well, it seems like I could just... give Mavrin some energy." I finished.

"Just give her... so you... supplied her the entire amount of energy she spent in the last hour on this magic... but, you still seem unfazed." Sevrina marveled.

"Well, I think I feel a bit... the energy I gave up," I confessed. "But, I guess, maybe this is part of the boon of endurance?"

The matrons all shared a look of amazement.

"Then let us press on." Mavrin declared.

I held her hand, guiding her back to Amura's bond, giving her the strength of my will and the energy she needed. It still took painfully long, and even I was feeling drained when we finished, but finally, the last of the foul bands on her bond fell away.

As the last band disintegrated, Amura took a deep, shuddering breath. Her breathing seemed easier and looking at her, she was more at peace than I'd ever seen her.

"Now, as invigorating as it was to draw on your energy, I still feel the weight of my labors. If I am to join you tomorrow as you depart to visit with our sisters in the clouds, I must rest." Mavrin declared, trudging from the room.

"Amura doubtless needs her rest as well," Lymarith noted.

Heilantu checked her and nodded, "She is well enough. With rest, she should be fully recovered shortly." Then with some surprise, she noted. "Her pulse is stronger than when I have treated her prior."

I nodded. That was good to hear. Her breathing was deep and easy and if her pulse was strong I had no reason to worry.

Now I just needed something to get my mind off of it.

Laliera seemed to have the same idea. "Master, you enjoy watching your matrons purge, do you not?"

I grinned, "Yeah I do. See with the... females I'm used to making love to, most of it leaks out right away... so it's like I haven't really finished until I see it leaking out of you."

"Is that why you enjoy it so?" Lymarith laughed. "We'd all wondered. Most masters want nothing to do with such things."

"Nah, and knowing I get to follow it up with a new creampie... fuck, that's hot," I growled.

"Then come, my body is ready." Laliera beckoned seductively, "For both the purging and this... creampie you speak of."

I will never grow tired of watching one of my lovers sit and spread her legs so I can watch my cum spill out of her. It's a good thing that my matrons' next instinct is to take me to the bedroom and fuck, because watching my cum slip out of them just makes me want to shoot more in them.

Laliera was no exception as she spread her flawless chocolate thighs and the barest hint of her pink inner lips was visible as my cum was evicted to make room for more. It seemed like having some understanding of WHY I liked to watch my cum drip from her intimate depths helped Laliera actually enjoy the show she was giving me.

Fucking her hard and fast actually made me feel all the effort and strain of the day, and as my cum leaked out of her dark folds from the excess I had put out ever since getting the boon of endurance, I actually flopped on the bed next to her, exhausted.

"For once, the reaction I expected after being inseminated." Laliera laughed.

I laughed, "Ugh, I'm kinda used to this too... I mean, it wasn't until after getting the boon of Endurance at our wed-...bonding... that I could just... keep going."

We cuddled for just a minute before I felt... refreshed like I'd slept a whole fucking night. It was strange, because one minute I was laying exhausted with Laliera, arms wrapped around her, just under her breasts so I wouldn't get handsy (my matrons didn't seem to care, but old habits die hard and I'd gotten chewed out by too many chicks for venturing a post-sex squeeze), the next it was as if I'd gotten a shot of the strongest espresso ever.

I was ready to GO. A marathon, a PT test, hiking Everest, I was READY. Laliera just swallowed and reminded me that we'd already performed the act of insemination and were I to need the release of another, perhaps Diamiutar or Anbethir were ready to purge.

I gave her a kiss, pulled on my clothes quickly (and temporarily I hoped), and went searching. Diamiutar was closer, but then I felt the unmistakable horniness of a matron who had just purged coming from Anbethir and changed my course.

She was just stepping out of the restroom, clearly a little disappointed and frustrated when I pulled her close and kissed her.

"But master, did you not just..." Anbethir asked in confusion.

"Yep, Laliera is still on the bed," I told her excitedly. "But I didn't think that would bother you. You want to be fucked or not?"

She was taken aback by whatever that translated to in Elven, but quickly got over it, and within minutes she was on her back, my dick pressed against her womb as I filled her with more cum than she could hold. She grabbed Laliera's hand on one side and the sheets on the other as the two naked Matrons shared in the shared orgasm.

I felt bad, leaving the two freshly fucked matrons alone to come down from their sex high, but feeling my need to DO something, not in a sexual sense, the two cuddled together and sent me off to find something useful to do.

Having just fucked twice, I was definitely sexually satisfied, but I felt... jittery. I needed something to occupy me. Diamiutar took one look at me and sent me out of the kitchen. I worried that with how well my matrons ran the house I wouldn't find anything to do until I ran into Tavorwen and Flendreir.